Automatic apparatus for feeding liquid or gaseous materials



May 3, 1949. E. E. HARPER 2,469,230

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDING LIQUID OR GASEOUS MATERIALS Filed Jan. 18, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l {fig- 1 INVENTOR;

6' TTOENEX y 1949- E. E. HARPER 2,469,230

AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR FEEDING LIQUID OR GASEOUS MATERIALS Filed Jan. 18, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'INVENTOR:

Ewe/ if fi/q/pe/ BY ATTOENEK --:or dispensing "materials, especially -*-n1'ate'r-ials of -liquidor gaseous form, such as chlo- 'rine gas; ammonia gas, reference to the feeding'of-such materials :by -'weight.

f ing such corrections 'in said feeding -result in'producingalso a 'subst'antially uniform gravim'etric'fiow.

Patented May 3, 1949 so fi'Sl-TA'TII ES 'io FF 1 cs 2,469,230 I AUTOMATIC APPARATUSFOB' FEEDiNG LIQUID ORGASEOUS MATERIALS Elmer E.- Harper; MonroviajCalifl; Esther 'Pardee =Harperexeoutrix of Elmer E. Harper, deceased Application January 18, 1945; Serial No. "573,415

11 Claims.

This invention'relates'to apparatus for feeding chemical etc; and with particular Accordingly, a primary 'objectbfthe invention 1s 'to devise a feeding"construction having'means for --1eeding such gaseous or I like material at an approximately uniform fiowratetogether with a gravimetric 'typeofcontrol mechanism for makrate' as will "For accom'plishingthis essential purpose of the --in-ven'tion, I have devised apparatus which inc1udes-feeding means of the character in combination-With a scales system support 'the supply of; gaseousorli'quid material, and also an improved" arrangement responsive to-fiuctuations in the scales. mechaindicated, serving-- to of means,

'nism, for transmitting the-necessary control. ac-

--tion for maintaining a substantially uniform -gravimetric flow or 'thematerial.

*It is-also-an object of theinv'ention to provide apparatus "having *the 'various improvements referred to; but whichis not necessarily confined to gravimetric operation.

-A further objectof' the invention is to devise a feeding and flow regulatingap-paratus in which 'a" novel construction is provided for affording a visible indication of. the; flow at a considerable distance.

.An important furthermobject of the invention is to provide a duplex form of valve mechanism and control .thereforasapart-of the flow regulating means, twhereby-an auxiliary safety valve featurevis provided inrcombination' with the autoamatic v regulatingrmeans, and said safety valve being also subject to automatic as :Well as manual .control.

It isv alsoan object of .the invention to provide v3 an extremely simple as. well as compactarrangewhich .ment and construction, the variousparts of are readily accessible, eitherrfor imanual adjust- -ment or regulatiomuas :may berequired.

:With 'the I foregoing general objects View -theinventionwvill:now be'xiescribe'd by reference to the acompanyingzidrawings wherein is illustrated one vpractical fformcof construction found suitable for the embodiment'of-my proposed im- *"provements :aftervwhich thoserfeatures and com- :binations deemed to be "novel: and p'aten table will -:be particularly set forth and claimed.

. 50 'cabinet I I and (Ola-222 58) V In *thedravvings H r "Figure 1 is" a -'sc lie'matic elevation illustrating a portion of chemical feeding apparatus comprising a construction'and arrangement suitable for 5 the practice of thepresentinvention; and

' Figure 2- is asimi-lar view 'oi'therema'ining portion of said apparatus, including 'the gravinietric control mechanism.

"The prevailing practice as "regards the "metermg and feeding of chlorine 'g'asandthe' like'has been to i'eed from aboht'aiher 'of' the material mounted on 'scales' me'chanism; and control the delivery ith'erefro'm by volumetric "measuring "means; and checkingthe results at intervals by "bbserving* the "lo'ss"of"--weight in the container. Such' practiceds"objetibnable on various grounds, because of "inaccuraciesarising from temperature and barometric changes,-as"well as internal pressure fluctuations/in addition to numerous zo mech'anical defects necessarily arising from such operation. Q In the feeding bf dry chemical materials, gravimetr'ic feeding apparatus-has been developed vvhi ch is characterized by-a more accurate and un'iform f'eedingrate; and' one ofthe important objects bfthe present invention is' to provide improved apparatus 'for the -fe'eding' of liquid or -gaseous"materials with substantially the same degree ofaccuracy and efliciency, as Well as equally reliable control or regulation; as' has been attained by c'orrespofiding apparatus developed for the'feeding of dry materials.

Referring now tdt-hedrawings in detail, the *improved' arrangement and construction is illustrated ascomprising'acontainer Idior the supply "of material, Whicli may if desired 'be'housed withinasuitable cabinet I I. "This'rec'eptacle or con- :tainer I 0' is fitted'w itha' valve IZ' from which a fleXible-1oi-pe"-or "tubing I4 leads to a duplex 40 -va1ve assembly'ma'de-up oftwovalves IE'and l'l -arra'ngd in series, and each valve having a control or regulating arm ZO'and'adjustabIestQp screw'iz, as' well'ascompressionspring 24; tending normally to close the-valvetdan extent limited "-by the "adjustment "of the corresponding stop screw'*22.

-From'-'the"yalve f1'theoutlet is by Way of a floW'pipZG extending up'wardly' through a block 0r"p1ate '28 S'liiJ'W-n mo'untd at the top of the se'rving as the supporting base of a glass bell 'ar 30, -the-lower edge of which is seated in an light-relation Within a groove or channel 32 -1n :said base, "and fir'mly secured -in' this relatidn by nieans ofa tie bar"33 clamped '55 against 'tlie tfip 0f tlie jar where --the ends of said bar are engaged by nuts 34 at the upper ends of anchor rods 35 which have their lower ends retained by nuts 36 engaging the under face of said supporting base 28.

The flow pipe 26 terminates at the upper interior of the bell jar chamber 30, which also encloses a transparent bell float member 40, which in turn encloses the upper open end of a vacuum pipe connection 42 carrying a disk element 44 for guiding engagement with the interior of said bell member 40.

The Vacuum pipe 42 connects with a water jet form of eductor device 46 having a water supply connection 48 and valve 48, and also a discharge outlet pipe 50 for the discharge of the outgoing gas and water mixture.

One object in the use of such an eductor device in connection with the discharge, is to maintain a partial vacuum or negative pressure condition in the carrying out of the control operation, as a safeguard against any leak in the system, which would result only in drawing in air to be mixed with the chlorine gas; that is to say, any leak in the system would be inward rather than outward. While this might involve a possible reduction in the feeding rate of the gas, pending reof the leak, it would be preferable to an ob- I pa1r jectionable escape of the chlorine which might result from a reliance on a feeding pressure as maintained at the source of said gas supply.

The water supply pipe 48 is provided with a branch connection I controlled by a valve 52 and a float element 54 for supplying water to a constant level float box 56 having an overflow outlet 51, and into which float box or chamber 56 a combination water supply nection 58 extends from the bell jar chamber and from within the lower portion of the float,

member 40. The bell float member is provided with a wire harness structure 60, the ends of which are secured by a suitable link 62 at the top of said member and adapted to freely support the same upon the upper end of said water supply and overflow pipe 58. To this harness structure 60 is attached a lifting wire 04, the lower end of which is-attached to a vacuum breaker cup 66 which encloses the lower end of the pipe 58, and the latter also carries a vent bell 68 which in turn encloses the cup 66 and is provided with a safety vent outlet I0.

The valves I5 and H are controlled by means of hell float members I2 and I4 respectively, which are located in partly submerged relation in said float box or chamber 56. For this purpose the arm 20 of the valve I5 is provided with a link 16 con meeting it with the float member 12, and the regulating arm of the valve I1 is also provided with a link 11 connecting it with an operating lever I8 fulcrumed at I9 and attached to the top of the other float member I4. The upper portion of the float member I2 is also provided with a flexible vacuum transmitting tube 80 which leads to the upper interior portion of the bell jar chamber 30, as illustrated in Figure 1.

While the float bell I2 and its connections provide a valve control means responsive to changes in the vacuum action produced in the bell jar chamber 30, the other float bell 14 forms part of an independent control mechanism operating on the gravimetric principle. The mechanism for this purpose will now be described.

A secondary water jet or eductor device 82 is provided, having a pipe connection 84 with the water supply and also an overflow pipe connection 04' with the float box 56, and also a vacuum tube connection 85 leading to a control valve device 86 provided with a thin-edged valve seat defining an air inlet orifice 88 which is controlled by a rocker type of valve member 90 including an operating arm 9 I, a construction which is in all respects similar to that illustrated in my copending application Serial No. 539,049 filed June 7, 1944, noWPatent No. 2,459,700, dated Jan. 18, 1949. As shown in Figure l, the tube 85 is provided with a branch 85' leading from the interior of the float bell 14, where it has an inlet orifice near the upper interior of said float member.

The container I0 is provided with a bail and supporting link 91 suspended from a pivot point 98 on a scale beam I00 carried by a fulcrum point I02 conveniently mounted inside the first cabinet member II, as illustrated inFigure 2. The scale arm of this beam I00 is provided with a fulcrum I05 for a link connection I06 to a fulcrum point I01 on a second balanced control beam I08 which is carried by a fulcrum point IIO also supported on the interior of said cabinet-as by means of a fixed hanger member I I2. On one arm of which control beam is suspended a link H4 in position for supporting engagement with the arm 9| of the valve member 90.

This control beam I08 is further provided with means for the transference of weight material from one to the other side of its fulcrum point, as an unbalancing function, in all essential respects similar to the means fully described in my copending application Serial No. 529,765 filed April 6, 1944, now Patent No. 2,416,994, dated March 4, 1947. As illustrated, this weight transferring means comprises a pair of receptacles H8 and H9, supported by linls I20 from pivot points I22 on the control beam I08 at opposite sides of its fulcrum center H0, and designed to accommodate the transfer of suitable chainweight material I24 from the receptacle II8 to the other receptacle H9 at a uniform rate, as by means of a synchronous clock motor I26 having a drive wheel I28 engaging and driving said chain weight material, which travels over idler wheels I30 during said transferring operation.

A drive connection I32 is also preferably provided from the motor shaft to a conventional counter device I34 constructed to register both batch readings I3'6 as well as total or cumulative readings as indicated at I38 in Figure 2. The shaft I35 of said counter device may also be provided with a crank I40 for reversing the chain transferring operation by hand, in order to rewind the chain-weight material I24 back from the receptacle I I0 into the first receptacle I I8 at the end of each so-called batch count, said drive wheel I28 being unclutched from its drive relation with said motor I26 in any conventional manner during such reversal of the movement of the chain material I24.

In preparation for the operation of the apparatus, the various valves I2, I5, I! and 49 are all closed, and the tare weight of the container I0 is properly offset by means of the adjustable poise I 0| on the scale beam I00, the other poise I03 being set at zero. The scale beam I00 and the control beam I08 are then balanced by a transfer of chain weight material I 24 (by means of operation of the crank I40) to the chain receptacle I I8, and the batch reading on the counter device I34 will also be set at zero reading.

With the motor I26 restored to engagement with the drive wheel I28, the valve I2 is opened, and then the valve 49 is also opened and the Of my inventior ijas fl y'win, be r bviq tipn may be Yry 'rjr'1aous r pefctsjoconfp'jim i ppnditions. es; s' ch as j the "valveljl 5 s iwell jas c'eirtainjof pewed; wi and might also be used in lieu ,tacle containing the material to be provided tacle containing a discharge outlet, a float-actuated device pro- 17, 1947', might be substituted for the rocker type of valve control herein shown. Even a form of gravimetric control system, such as shown in my patent No. 2,080,267 dated May 11, 1937,

of that herein illustrated with satisfactory results-the use of which patented control mechanism would also dispense with the float and vacuum mechanism of the present apparatus.

I therefore desire to be understood as expressly reserving the right to make all changes or modifications which may fairly and properly be deemed to fall within the spirit and scope of my invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent is:

1. Apparatus for the gravimetric feeding of liquid or gaseous materials, comprising a recephandled and with a discharge outlet, a vacuumactuated device providedfwith a fluid pressure control connection and also with mechanical control connections for regulating the flow through said discharge outlet, scale mechanism supporting said receptacle, and means responsive to fluctuations in said scale mechanism matically controllingsaid fluid pressure connection.

2. Apparatus for the gravimetric feeding of liquid or gaseous materials, comprising a recepthe material and provided with vided with a fluid pressure control connection and also with mechanical control connections operative to regulate the flow through said discharge outlet from the receptacle, scale mechanism supporting said receptacle, and an automatic valve responsive to fluctuations in said scale mechanism for controlling said fluid pressure connection and correspondingly regulating the flow through said discharge outlet.

3. Apparatus for the gravimetric feeding of liquid or gaseous materials, comprising means providing a flow passage for the material, a valve for regulating the flow through said flow passage, a gravimetrically controlled float device provided with connections for operating said valve, an auxiliary fluid-pressure controlled valve in advance of said first valve for controlling the flow through said passage, and fluid-pressure control means provided with operating connections to said auxiliary valve for regulating the latter.

4. Apparatus for the feeding of liquid or gaseous materials comprising, scale mechanism supporting a measured quantity of the material, means providing a flow passage for the material, vacuum producing means communicating with said flow passage, means for automatically producing fluctuations in said scale mechanism at a predetermined and substantially uniform rate, means for regulating the flow through said passage in response to said fluctuations and thereby maintaining said flow at a rate substantially proportional to the diminishing weight of the material supported on the scale mechanism, and automatic flow control means in advance of said first regulating means and responsive to the acproducing means.

5. Apparatus for eous materials comprising, scale mechanism supporting a measured quantity of the material, means providing a flow passage for the material, vacuum producing means communicating with said flow passage,'means for automatically producing fluctuations in said scale inechanismat a predetermined and substantially uniform rate,

, regulating means for regulating the flow through said passage in response to said fluctuations and thereby maintaining said flow at a rate substantially proportional to the diminishing weight of the ma terial supported on the scale mechanism, a valve for controlling said flow in advance of saidfirst means, and float-actuated means responsive to the action of said vacuum producing means for operating said valve.

6. Apparatus for the feeding of liquid or gaseous materials comprising, scale mechanism supporting a measured quantity of the material, means providing a flow passage for the material, vacuum producing means communicating with said flow passage, separate valves-one in advance of the other, for controlling the flow through said flow passage, individual float confor autotially proportional trol devices for said float control actuating said valves, one of said control devices being responsive to the action of said vacuum producing means, automatic means for producing fluctuations in said scale mechanism at a predetermined and substantially uniform rate, and means for regulating the other of devices and the corresponding valve in response to said scale fluctuations and thereby maintaining said flow at a rate substanto the diminishing weight of the material supported on the scale mechanism.

'7. Apparatus for the feeding of liquid or gaseous materials comprising, means for providing a flow passage for the material, vacuum producing means communicating with said flow passage, separate valves- -one in advance of the other, for controlling the flow through said flow passage, independent float control devices for actuating said valves, one of said control devices being responsive to the action of said vacuum producing means, a fluid pressure control connection communicating with the other of said float control devices, and gravimetric control means including a valve operating automatically to control saidfluid pressure connection.

8. Apparatus for the feeding of liquid or gaseous materials comprising, scale mechanism supsaid flow passage, separate valves-one in advance of the other, for controlling the flow through said flow passage, independent float control devices for separately actuating said valves, one of said control devices being responsive to the action of said vacuum producing means, automatic means for producing fluctuations in said scale mechanism at a predetermined and substantially uniform rate, an auxiliary vacuum producing means provided with'a vacuum connection to the other of said float control devices, and automatic control means including a valve responsive to said scale fluctuations and operating automatically to regulate the vacuum action transmitted to said other float control device.

9. Apparatus for the feeding of gaseous materials comprising, a vacuum chamber having a liquid partially filling its bottom portion, a gas supply line opening into the upper portion of said chamber and provided with a control valve located outside said chamber, vacuum producing means having a gas discharge line with an intake portion communicating with said chamber,

bottom of the chamber, and float-actuated means communicating with said chamber and having connections for controlling said valve in accordance with the vacuum action of said vacuum producing means.

10. Apparatus for the feeding of gaseous materials comprising, a vacuum chamber having a liquid partially filling its bottom portion having means for maintaining a liquid level in the lower portion of the chamber, a gas supply line opening into the upper portion of said chamber and provided with a flow control valve, ducing means provided with a gas discharge line having an intake portion communicating with said chamber, a bell float member separating said gas supply and discharge lines and having its lower end submerged in said liquid and in spaced relation to the bottom of said chamber, vacuum-actuated means communicating with said chamber and having connections for controlling said valve, and safety vent means controlled by said bell float member for preventing an excessive degree of vacuum being developed in said chamber.

11. Apparatus for the gravimetric feeding of liquid or gaseous materials, comprising a receptacle containing the material to be handled and provided with a discharge outlet, vacuum provacuum pro- 10 ducing means communicating with said discharge outlet, vacuum actuated means responsive to the action of said vacuum producing means for regulating the flow through said discharge outlet, an auxiliary control device for controlling the fiow through said discharge outlet, scale mechanism supporting said receptacle, and vacuum actuated means responsive to fluctuations in said scale mechanism for regulating the operation of said auxiliary control device.

ELMER E, HARPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,832,786 Pattison Nov. 17, 1931 1,900,642 Gerlach Mar. 7, 1933 1,983,093 Montgomery Dec. 4, 1934 2,080,267 Harper May 11, 1937 2,158,976 Booth May 16, 1939 2,269,393 Crampton Jan. 6, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 219,067 Great Britain 1924 

